Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: Thousands of devotees thronged various Durga Puja pandals across the city on Navami.

The Rasulgarh Durga Puja pandal witnessed a large number of devotees as the pandal, they have erected, is famous for numerous kiosks and the venue of an array of cultural programmes in the evening.

Rasulgarh Durga Puja Management Committee secretary Japan Routray said: "Every year during Puja, we try to come up with something innovative. Apart from the design, we have decided to launch new activities and services for visitors. This year during the immersion, we will organise the Santhal dance, an endangered art form."

"Moreover, this year's lighting around the pandal displays awareness messages on various forms of social ills," he said.

People were seen pandal hopping to admire the Puja decorations themed on various topics. They were also seen shopping in malls and enjoying delicacies at eateries across the city.

The Bomikhal Puja pandal also proved to be a huge crowd-puller throughout the day as people from all walks of life visited the mandap to seek the goddess's blessings. Similarly, the Jharpada Puja pandal, decorated on the lines of Maya Mahal, also saw unprecedented footfalls.

"The organisers have engaged as many as 12 private security guards and more than 200 volunteers to manage the crowd and keep a watch on mischief makers," said Jharpada Durga Puja Samiti secretary S.C. Jena.

The Sahid Nagar Durga Puja Committee's chandi medha was also a major attraction. The committee has used 2.5 quintals of silver to build the structure. Earlier, the Sarbajanina Durga Puja Samiti of Old Station Bazar was the only marquee with a silver background.

However, motorists had a tough time because of heavy traffic across the city. Besides, haphazard parking of vehicles made the situation worse, adding to the commuters' woes. Traffic congestion was witnessed on the Cuttack Road, Janpath and Baramunda to Rasulgarh.

Bhubaneswar traffic ACP Jatin Panda said the movement of vehicles had slowed down drastically.

He attributed the traffic chaos to unruly parking and increase in the number of vehicles. With the majority of the big Puja pandals such as the ones at Rasulgarh, Saheed Nagar, Nayapalli, Bomikhal, Cuttack Road, Old Station Bazar, Baramunda, Ashok Nagar and Unit-I coming up along the main roads, the rush of vehicles has become quite unmanageable.